Ship passed through the Northeast Passage to Esbjerg

For the first time ever, a ship sailed into Esbjerg Harbor after a trip north of Russia through the Northeast Passage last Thursday. The ship M/V Lian Hua Song arrived at Esbjerg Harbor from Lianyungang, China, from which it departed on August 1st.

The ship is the first of three ships from the Chinese shipping company COSCO, which will enter Esbjerg Harbor via the Northeast Pass. The ships transport a total of 136 tower sections to Siemens wind turbines, which will continue to Laayoune, Morocco.

In general, it is rare that ships sail through the Northeast Passage. This is despite the fact that the route is actually the fastest connection between Asia and Europe. Travel time decreases by 10-12 days if you sail through the Northeast Passage instead of the more frequent alternative, the Suez Canal.

The Northeast Passage opened up for shipping traffic in 2011, where the decreasing sea ice made the route more accessible than before. Weather conditions can still make the trip difficult, and in 2016 only 19 ships sailed through the passage.

From Esbjerg Harbor, M/V Lian Hua Song sails to Skt. Petersburg. Before that, the tower sections from the ship are transported onto the quay in Esbjerg. The tower sections will be loaded on board smaller cargo ships, which will sail them to Morocco in the coming weeks. Here the port is too small to accomodate the Chinese vessel.